Optical interferometry is a technique in which two separate light pulses, a sensing pulse and a reference pulse, are generated and interfere with each other. When optical interferometry is used for fiber optic sensing applications, the sensing and reference pulses are at least partially reflected back towards an optical receiver. The nature of the interference observed at the optical receiver provides information on the optical path length the pulses traveled, which in turn provides information on parameters such as the strain the optical fiber experienced.
There exists a desire to use the optical fiber to measure strain forces experienced by a pipeline.